Fall Away
by pagey46
Summary: AU. Marissa is back to school after having her surgery. A new student shows up. But is she really who she says she is? MALEX eventually
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Fall Away**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own OC characters.

**Summary: **AU. Marissa is back to school after having her surgery. A new student shows up. But is she really who she says she is?

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_I've been gone for months and nobody even noticed. Just proves how loved I am here._ Marissa sighed as she walked through the corridor to her first class.

She had been gone for almost two months now after her cardiologist told her she needed to rest for a whole month after her surgery. If they did the math, she would've been gone for only a month and a few days, but her mother had to insist she go rest for one or more week. "You need more time of resting," her mother told her.

She didn't mind being behind all the classes. It was her senior year. Her professors informed her she would have special projects as a make up for all her lost exams and projects. So there wasn't any need to mind. In fact, she didn't care. She wasn't exceptionally bright but she knew she's smart enough to pass.

As she entered her classroom, she was greeted by her two closest friends Summer and Seth.

"Welcome back Coop! I've missed you sooooo much. Now Seth wouldn't have to bug just only one person in this class." Summer said as she hugged her friend.

"Who's bugging who?." He looked at her friend. "Missed you Coop. Took you long enough." He said with a sigh as he hugged her friend as well.

"Guys. Oxygen. Issue." Marissa attempted to speak while her friends squeezed her excitedly.

"Sorry. Just real happy you're back and doing fine. You do feel good right? Better?" asked Seth instantly backing up

"Thanks. Of course I'm okay. Been okay for weeks actually. But I'm better now since I get to hang out with you guys again." Replied Marissa who gave them both a reassuring smile.

"Aww Coop. C'mon. Your seat's been missing you a lot." Summer giggled and took Marissa's hand as she made their way to their seats.

Being away from class of course had its drawbacks; first, she didn't have a clue on what Mr. Connor was discussing; second, it bored her to listen to something she didn't understand thus forcing her not to even try to pay attention.

"You okay there? You do know Mr. Connor will kill you once he sees you right?" asked Summer.

"That's why I'm being discreet Summer." She smiled. "I'm good though, just not getting any of this. Besides, I think he'll let this one pass." she said resting her head on both of her hands.

Just as she was about to doze off, she heard knocking on their classroom's door. Marissa didn't even bother to look up since she was utterly uninterested.

A few seconds later, she heard her instructor introduce a new student.

_A new student? At least I won't be the only one behind, _she thought still with her head down and eyes closed.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class? Is there something more you'd like to share with them?" she heard her professor asked.

She heard a loud sigh then a girl spoke in a rather flat tone. "Uh, well, I'm pretty much what he just said."

_Well someone's even more bored than me._ She then looked up to see a black haired girl heading towards the empty seat beside her.

As soon as the professor turned to face the board, she noticed the new girl slump on her seat, her head resting on her fisted hand with eyes closed.

_Someone has to teach her what discreet means._ She thought as she went back to her "discreet" way of sleeping.

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**A/N**: This is my first fic ever. I apologize for the shortness and the grammar.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Summer, I'll just go to the ladies room. You guys go ahead." Marissa said as she headed towards the rest room. Just as Summer was going to protest about how her friend shouldn't be going there alone, their professor showed up wanting to talk to Summer and Seth's pair work the last week.

"_I'll be okay_." she mouthed as she looked back to her friends.

She had just finished washing her hands and was about to leave when two women blocked her way. They were clad in black and looked quite intimidating.

"So how was rehab? We heard you admitted yourself. Damn Cooper, you know the rules right? First is never getting caught. Try to be more discreet next time newbie." With that, the two girls laughed and left.

Marissa was left in the room, surprisingly amused. _They think I was in rehab? Doesn't anybody get their news straight anymore?_

Just then, another group of girls came rushing in, bumping her to one of the closed cubicles.

"Watch it junkie!" said one, presumably the leader of the pack, as her cronies giggled and whispered rumors of how she paid herself out of rehab.

Marissa didn't say anything as she touched the arm that hit the door. The push was a little harder than she expected. She was never into violence so she simply stared at the girl, trying to remember what her name was. Were they even in any classes together? _Oh right, Saddie._

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone from the other side of the cubicle door she was leaning on wanting to come out. A few more seconds later, she felt a hard nudge from the door she was blocking. Marissa looked behind her to apologize for "trapping" the other girl who turned out to be new student.

"I'm real sorry." She said looking at her then pointing her eyes to the group.

"Could you be any lamer Cooper? Trapping that poor new thing there."

The new student walked to the washing area then looked at the girl who was trying to be the queen bitch of the year.

"So… since I'm the poor new thing, I wanted to know if the rumor is true." She washed her hands and then continued to speak as soon as she realized she had caught the group's attention. "I learned from the school nurse that there's an epidemic parotitis going around. It starts off with tiny red pimples on your forehead and will spread all over your body. And end up like one of the cases House would handle."

Marissa was frozen. Her attention was fixed on the black haired girl.

Slowly, the new student turned to face Saddie. Her eyes started squinting then opened her mouth as if she was shocked. Her face was dead serious. "Are those... tiny red pimples? You know, maybe you should have it checked by the school nurse. Like right now."

Everyone turned to look at the girl, examining her forehead. They began to take a step or two backward. Saddie quickly headed towards the door; her minions reluctantly followed her, only with some distance.

Marissa couldn't believe it. _Did she just save me from that bitch?_ She grinned and turned to look at the other girl who tried putting her lip gloss on but could no longer suppress a laugh.

"You know, mumps don't start out that way." She said smiling. She knew a thing or two about it since her mom's a nurse.

"I know… but she doesn't." The new girl grinned and left.

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**A/N: **Not much going on yet but future chapters will satisfy your MALEX thirst :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: Fall Away**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own OC characters.

**Summary: **AU. Marissa is back to school after having her surgery. A new student shows up. But is she really who she says she is?

**

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****Chapter 3**

"Where have you been?" asked Summer as Marissa took her seat beside her.

"Autograph signing at the ladies room. Turns out I've a small fan base here." She smirked.

Her friend glared at her. "Okay okay. I'll tell you." Marissa then proceeded to tell Summer what had happened earlier. They both couldn't help but giggle at Saddie's reaction which in turn caught their teacher's attention.

"Ms. Cooper, I see you're back and doing well. Keep it down please." Their teacher then tilted her head to look at the student behind Marissa. "Oh and Ms. Kelly, I'd like my students awake during my classes." She added with a weak smile.

_Kelly? Who?_ Marissa doesn't recall having a classmate named Kelly. She turned her head to see who it was.

"Oh hey, you're the new girl right?" Marissa looked backed to check on her teacher. She had started to write something on the board so she hurriedly turned around again.

"Seems like it. The new girl, new student, poor new thing… but you know, it's a lot easier to call me Alex."

Marissa smiled. "Hi Alex. I'm Marissa."

* * *

As the day went on, Marissa found out that Alex was in every one of her classes and in each of those, she noticed Alex always showed up late and had the least of interest to even bother to listen.

Her curiosity got the best of her. "I take it you're not liking this whole attending classes thing?"

Alex looked up to see Marissa smirking, her eyes glowing. "Um... Huh?"

"I'm guessing that's a yes." Marissa chuckled. She had never seen anyone so bored… more bored than her to be in fact. "Want to skip class? It's a lot easier than, um, sitting here and pretending to listen." It surprised Marissa that she had offered the new girl to skip classes with her. _Take her down with you now eh?_

Alex raised her eyebrow. "Skip class? Um… Not that it doesn't appeal to me but you know, it's sorta is my first day here and I don't…"

Marissa cut in. "I know. It's just I'm pretty bored myself and since you're what, in every one of my classes beating me in my boredom...ness, I figured…"

The other girl couldn't help but smile. This time, it was her time to cut in to what Marissa was saying. "Maybe next time though. I'll take that offer."

* * *

"Your mom is picking you up?" Summer asked as she, Marissa and Seth made their way to the parking lot.

Marissa shrugged. "She's being overprotective. First day back here and all."

"Not to sound rude or anything but does anybody else think the new girl is hot?" Seth pointed to Alex who was standing near the school entrance. She was on the phone, obviously looking a bit pissed.

"And you're asking us because?" Summer looked at Seth, rolled her eyes then shook her head.

"Her name's Alex. She's not into being called the new girl." Marissa looked to where Seth was looking. She noticed Alex sighed as she put her phone down. She ran her hand through her hair and started to look around.

"Well that's new. Since when did you start remembering names?" Seth asked, amused. Marissa always had troubles remembering names. It came as quite a shock to him that she could remember a new student's name.

"She's in ALL of my classes Seth." Marissa stated matter of factly. "And please stop drooling. It looks… scary on you."

"Who's drooling? I'm not drooling. Do I look like I'm drooling?" Seth looked at Summer.

"Please Seth, we both know you're the king of drool." Summer rolled her eyes and started the car. "Well? Are you going to keep drooling there or start getting in the car with me? Could someone remind me again why I'm giving you a ride?"

Seth hopped in the passenger seat and grinned sheepishly. "Because you're the nicest person to have ever graced the land of Newport."

"Whatever. Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Summer asked Marissa who was taking cover from the sun under a tree.

"I'll be fine Summ. Go on. My mom's going to be here in a few minutes. Call me later aight?" She waved goodbye as Summer nodded and took off. Just then, she received a message from her mother who was apparently going to be a few minutes late. Marissa sighed and went over to the benches. She wouldn't be able to take a long time waiting just standing.

"Waiting for your ride?" a voice asked from behind her. Marissa looked up to see Alex.

"Yeah. You?" The brunette scooted over to give Alex some sitting space.

"Same thing. Don't you just hate it when they're running late?" Alex sat down and turned to her.

"Absolutely." Marissa nodded.

* * *

"You ride a bike? Like a motorbike?" Marissa asked, her interest growing every minute. She hasn't met anyone that had caught her interest since... well, nobody actually.

She and Alex had been talking for a good 15 minutes. They had first talked about her surgery but Marissa didn't want to dwell on it any further so she changed it to anything about the other girl.

"Oh no." Alex smirked. "I ride a bicycle." She continued.

"Hmm. A bike. To school. That's…" she thought of something, anything.

"Weird? Don't worry. I get that a lot from being concerned about our world." Alex saw a questioning look form on Marissa's eyes. "I'm trying to cut off on car usage to help delay earth's eventual doom."

"An inconvenient truth?" Marissa chuckled. Alex smiled and nodded.

"That's great. So where is it? Your bike?" Marissa looked around.

"It's over there. Some jerk decided it'd be better off with flat tires."

"Well we can give you a ride. My mom's bound to get here any moment now." She looked at her wristwatch.

"Thanks but it's okay. I've already phoned my friend to get me my jeep... which I seldom use now."

As soon as Alex finished her sentence, a red Mustang stopped in front of them.

"Can't believe she's using my car again. Anyway, Alex, it sure was nice talking to you. Uh, I'll see you tomorrow then." Marissa smiled and waved her goodbye. As she sat down on her car, she realized those last few minutes with Alex had been the best thing so far since she got back.

"So how was school?" asked Julie Cooper, her eyes focused on the road.

"It was…" Marissa looked at the sideview mirror. She could still see Alex, now standing alone, running her hand, yet again, through her hair. A smile crept along Marissa's face. "It was great."

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**A/N: **Wow. Reviews! Thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Fall Away

**Disclaimer:** I do not own OC characters.

**Summary:** AU. Marissa is back to school after having her surgery. A new student shows up. But is she really who she says she is?

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the reviews everyone. I never thought reviews would make me all giddy :) Anyway, just a quick answer to some of your concerns: Sorry if some of you were confused, my story is AU (I actually didn't get S2 here. Sucks I know) so things are a li'l (okay, a lot) different. The surgery, Alex's hair and more will be explained in future chapters so please, stick around :)

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**Chapter 4**

Marissa moved her seat closer to Alex. "Why are we the only ones paired?" she asked, looking around the room. Their teacher had to rush off due to a personal emergency and had given them individual schoolwork to finish.

"Did you just imply you don't like to be paired with me?" Alex asked as she flipped through the pages of the book they had to give a report on.

"NO!" _That sounded way too eager_. "No. I want to be paired with you… I mean, I've no problem. It's fine..." Marissa had no clue why she was saying so many words. She wasn't usually like this since her replies would often consist of a mere "yes" or a "no"; more often, a simple nod or a shake of the head will do.

Alex looked at Marissa who was clearly lost in her babbling thoughts. "It's probably because we're both late. And a simple 'no' would've worked for me." Smiling, she went back to browsing their book.

But Marissa's babbling continued; "… and you're nice. And I like you. Because you, uh, have a bike and…" Until Alex's words A simple no… registered in her head. "What?" She turned to look at Alex who then had a look of surprise in her eyes, but immediately shook it away. _Me and my big babbling mouth. Me babbling? What the…_

Alex tore her eyes away from the book and turned to Marissa. "Aztecs. Uh, them… what are we even going to learn from them?"

Marissa shrugged. Mentally saying praises and thanks that Alex didn't hear what she just said. "Nothing really," she added. Whew.

* * *

"So where is Summer and Seth?" Alex asked as they walked towards their table. She and Marissa had spent half of their day talking, often getting caught and warned by their teachers.

Marissa though was having too much fun she didn't really care if they were constantly being reprimanded. And Alex certainly seemed like she didn't mind either. She likes talking to Alex and getting to know her. She likes being around Alex; there's something in her that lured Marissa closer.

_Do I… like her? Alex? I like Alex? I like Alex. As a friend of course. Right_.

"Are you okay?" Alex was looking at Marissa. She had noticed that the taller girl seemed to have been a little preoccupied – nodding and then shaking her head silently - since they had gotten to the cafeteria.

"Yes. It's just… a headache." Marissa replied as she pretended to massage her temple. "Oh and Summ and Cohen, they're gone for the day. Official school trip. Something to do with the report they gave last week."

"Speaking of reports, I should get your mobile number." Alex said calmly as she took a bite of her fries.

"My number?" Marissa suddenly found herself anxious. _My number_? With the sudden mental confusion she's experiencing, she didn't even realize she started staring at the other girl.

"Well…" Alex looked up to see Marissa looking intently at her. "Uh, if that's okay with you… in case I get… lost… with the report." Alex's usual calmness seemed to have abruptly left her.

"Sure." Shaking her head slightly, she began to look for a piece of paper inside her bag. Suddenly, she felt Alex's hand grab her arm.

"No need. Save it here." Alex handed Marissa her mobile phone.

"Do you always do this?" Marissa asked as she typed in her number. It's a surprise she was able to use her fingers when it felt like she was still shaking from Alex's touch.

"Do what?"

"Give your phone when asking for a number. What if I ran off with your phone?" She asked sporting her "devilish smile."

"I'm pretty sure you're not like that." Alex smiled back. "Besides, I don't think you're much of a runner anyway."

Marissa raised her eyebrow and teasingly hit Alex's arm.

"Okay. I take it back." Alex raised both of her hands in the air, feigning surrender.

Marissa couldn't help but laugh. She can hardly remember when she had laughed so hard over something so silly. At this time though, with Alex, she can genuinely say she's enjoying herself.


End file.
